World War II: Operation Husky

July 9/10, 1943 - Operation Husky commences as Allied airborne and seaborne forces land on Sicily. Allied planners consented to the operation after deciding it was not feasible to conduct landings in France during 1943. The invasion of Sicily was designed to open the shipping lanes in the Mediterranean, eliminate the island as an Axis base, and to encourage the fall of Mussolini's government. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was given overall command with British Gen. Harold Alexander designated as the ground commander. The principle forces for the assault were the US 7th Army under Lt. Gen. George S. Patton (right) and the British Eighth Army under Gen. Bernard Montgomery. Facing the 165,000 Allied troops were 405,000 Italians and Germans under Gen. Alfredo Guzzoni.

On the night of July 9/10, Allied airborne units began landing, while the main ground forces came ashore three hours later on the southeast and southwest coasts of the island. The Allied advance initially suffered from a lack of coordination between US and British forces as Montgomery pushed northeast towards the strategic port of Messina and Patton pushed north and west. As Montgomery's army began to get bogged down, Alexander ordered the Americans to shift east and protect the British left flank. Seeking a more important role for his men, Patton sent a reconnaissance in force towards the island's capital, Palermo. When Alexander radioed the Americans to stop their advance, Patton claimed the orders were "garbled in transmission" and pushed on to the city capturing it. The fall of Palermo helped spur Mussolini's overthrow in Rome. With Patton in position on the north coast, Alexander ordered a two-prong assault on Messina, hoping to take the city before Axis forces could evacuate the island. Driving hard, Patton entered the city on August 17, a few hours after the last Axis troops departed, and a few hours before Montgomery. The successful campaign set up the invasion of Italy and taught the Allies valuable lessons that were utilized the following year on D-Day.

Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration